Roman Polanski

[STN]

It could be done in theory, though I don't think anyone ever put it to the test?

The gangster Dave Courtenay (according to him, at any rate) was found not guilty of a murder in a Chinese takeaway, and on being asked by the judge if he had anything to say about his acquittal said 'yes, I did it'.

 

[nomadthethird]

Wow, it would be very interesting to see what would happen if they lifted double jeopardy here.

It would be like a tsunami of litigation like you'd never seen.

Wonder if it would reduce waste in the system or increase it, tho...

 

[IdleRich]

"Is this a joke or are you serious?"

No, serious.

"There's a law here about how you can't profit from your crimes that's supposed to keep convicts from selling novels and merching the shit out of their "bad luck"...only works if you get convicted though"

That's exactly the problem. If you get off then you're free to profit and with double-jeopardy you can even own up in your novel - you don't necessarily even need to dress it up with an "If Idid it..." like OJ did.

"O.J. tried to write that book, but it never flew"

But it was public opinion that did for that rather than the law wasn't it? Murdoch blocked it and fired the underling who had made the original decision to print it.

 

[nomadthethird]

The gangster Dave Courtenay (according to him, at any rate) was found not guilty of a murder in a Chinese takeaway, and on being asked by the judge if he had anything to say about his acquittal said 'yes, I did it'.

Haha...yikes...why would you do that??

See, in the U.S. people don't do that (I'm guessing) because they know that there are too many loopholes. Like, if you admitted that you'd actually done it, you could always end up being sued in civil court or something...they'd do something to make sure you went to prison...

 

[crackerjack]

The gangster Dave Courtenay (according to him, at any rate) was found not guilty of a murder in a Chinese takeaway, and on being asked by the judge if he had anything to say about his acquittal said 'yes, I did it'.

Hadn't heard that. Think the bit in the brackets might be the key. Like the way his wiki page segues from

Author Bernard O'Mahoney and the former member of the Richardson gang Frankie Fraser have accused Courtney of embellishing and fabricating his criminal record and position in the underworld; however, Courtney has denied overstating his past.

to

Dave was educated at Forest Hill Comprehensive, where he was an active member of the drama group, taking the lead role in several plays.

All the world's a stage dahlin.

 

[nomadthethird]

But it was public opinion that did for that rather than the law wasn't it? Murdoch blocked it and fired the underling who had made the original decision to print it.

Yeah, I think that's how it happened.

I was actually intrigued, I wanted to hear how it went down just timeline-wise. I watched that trial every night for hours. The prosecution never could get the timeline down, and that's what killed it for them ultimately. It was really a cheap circumstantial case--there was documentation that he'd been abusing her for years, and the bronco chase, some blood, and that was it. His lawyers were brilliant. The LAPD couldn't even build the case and they were planting evidence for fuck's sake.

I remember when all of that went down how deeply class and race encoded it all was, the LAPD were just slimeballs. All of the white people were outraged that O.J. got away with it, and the black people were cheering. And I just thought, well, if white men can do things like this every day and buy their way out of it, why shouldn't black men be able to? Another victory for black America, in one sense. It really was.

Then years later I read (they withheld this at the time) that he'd literally sawed Nicole Brown's head off... that's one crazy motherfucker...

 

[crackerjack]

Right, but here's the issue--the victim has rights, too, and those need protecting. Just like the accused has rights. I get wary of this idea that the State should be able to overstep certain rights not because I think government is bad, but because if you look at the states that exist, they have pretty terrible track records when it comes to social injustice. Extending the power of the State legally usually means that you will increase the net social injustice in the world, instead of decreasing it.

I understand where you're coming from and I'd probably agree on a really broad theoretical level, it just ends up being a little bit too simplistic a theory to account for the more complicated/complex reality of rape cases. Just knowing enough rape victims personally makes me wary of saying anything too strong about how every case should go to trial. Were the state to step in and force some of them through the legal system, that would essentially be a sort of "re-victimization" or second rape of sorts...a serious trigger...and without a strong case, a complete waste of time...

Fair points all. When I made the original point I was stating how I think the law is (though God knows I'm not qualified, so just guessing) rather than how I necessarily think it should be. Although broadly I do think that, particularly in cases where money is known to have been paid.

 

[crackerjack]

Then years later I read (they withheld this at the time) that he'd literally sawed Nicole Brown's head off... that's one crazy motherfucker...

 

[STN]

I was obsessed with the Simpson trial too, as a child, but for some reason in my head the LAPD's abysmal behaviour is linked primarily to ice cream. Why is this? Did they keep DNA in an ice cream freezer or something?

I was fascinated by Kato Kailin, who just seemed so weird.

 

[nomadthethird]

I was obsessed with the Simpson trial too, as a child, but for some reason in my head the LAPD's abysmal behaviour is linked primarily to ice cream. Why is this? Did they keep DNA in an ice cream freezer or something?

I was fascinated by Kato Kailin, who just seemed so weird.

Hmmm...there was a lot of talk about DNA and probably then footage of cryogenic tanks (which look sciencey and stuff) on the news, which may have made you think of ice cream.

Kato Kailin--only in CA. A "houseguest" for two years? Yeah that was all a little creepy.

 

[empty mirror]

i dunno, i think the dude should get a pass for being an artist

athletes... not so much

serious.

 

[scottdisco]

oh British libel, we love you so

Roman in brass neck shock

My incomplete files include the case of Roman Polanski, whom the Law Lords allowed to sue in London, even though he could not appear in person at the High Court because he had fled to France from America in 1978 to escape charges of having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl. The indulgent judges allowed a fugitive from child abuse allegations to escape the indignity of being arrested and deported by the British police and said he could deliver his evidence via a video link instead. (He duly won a wad of damages.)

here

 

[craner]

Sorry to be OT, but what's your favorite Polanski film and why?

 

[crackerjack]

Chinatown is one of the best, um, let's say ten movies ever made. Sorry to be so obvious, but given what obscurantists the rest of you are, I'll probably be the only one to choose it.

 

[scottdisco]

Rosemary's Baby, though i have seen shamefully little of his catalogue. i want to see Chinatown next. in fact the first and The Ninth Gate are the only ones i've seen. pretty remiss i know.

i am rather shouty on this thread incidentally, apologies on that front!

why? i like how its part of the move to family horror in the great sweep of cinematic horror and its different stages, from Night of the Hunter back in the day, through the likes of Baby, on to allegorical zombie individual horror etc.

incidentally, apart from the fact that i like the actors in Chinatown, one reason i want to see it (apart from knowing it is so highly thought of) is i love wandering around Chinatowns in western cities - which may make me sound a bit

 

[craner]

Chinatown is the best, no reason to apologise about it.

Scottie, I like Rosemary's Baby, but I hate the ending, which is the whole point of the film, so I can't say I like it. I think it's a sill film, beautifully executed, if that makes sense.

No love for Repulsion? I always twin this with Jess Franco's masterpiece Succubus for a number of reasons I won't go into here. I keep meaning to write a Citta post comparing them, film stud. style but better (of course).

I think my personal might be Knife in the Water.

 

[crackerjack]

incidentally, apart from the fact that i like the actors in Chinatown, one reason i want to see it (apart from knowing it is so highly thought of) is i love wandering around Chinatowns in western cities - which may make me sound a bit

It barely sets foot in Chinatown itself. It exists more as a background spectre, a warning about the futility of good intentions. Probably spends about 5 mins there at the end - but don't let that put you off.

The best 'actor' in the film is actually a director - John Huston - who plays a kind of Beelzebub.

 

[baboon2004]

I thought Chinatown might be overrated before i watched it, but how wrong could I be. Close to cinematic perfection.

But i'd possibly place The Tenant even higher.

 

[nomadthethird]

But i'd possibly place The Tenant even higher.

Yeah, I liked that one, wasn't it supposed to be a Hitchcock tribute or something?... Polanski's not a terrible actor...

 

[nomadthethird]

Roman in brass neck shock

My incomplete files include the case of Roman Polanski, whom the Law Lords allowed to sue in London, even though he could not appear in person at the High Court because he had fled to France from America in 1978 to escape charges of having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl. The indulgent judges allowed a fugitive from child abuse allegations to escape the indignity of being arrested and deported by the British police and said he could deliver his evidence via a video link instead. (He duly won a wad of damages.)


here

Why do journalists and such insist on framing this case like it's a stat rape case when the victim very clearly states that she was drugged and raped?

I don't get it. There's a huge difference, legally and most people would say ethically, between the two. Stat rape is ethically pretty disgusting but by definition it's not as violent and sadistic- it's an abuse of power but not a direct violation of another's person. The psychological motivating factors are different in stat and traditional rape.

If this were some random Mexican dude in Texas who'd done this he'd be on death row...